(Hi readers! I may look a lot like our usual Tasty Thursday blogger, but it’s me, Christa Allard, filling in this week!)

I made all of Nora’s baby food when she started on solids. I’d lovingly steam, purée and serve her fresh fruits and veggies, enjoying the simplicity of the process and the cuisine. I did this less out of a concern of feeding her processed foods and more because of economics – one sweet potato could feed even my voracious babe for an entire week. Skipping the jarred purées was a no brainier.

I then came to appreciate the fact that I knew exactly what was in Nora’s food. Don’t get me wrong; she’ll enjoy her fair share of toddler treats and sleepover junk food in due time, now that her palate is expanding. But my husband and I cook meals for ourselves every day (we rarely eat out), so why wouldn’t I make Nora’s food, too?

Thanks to a mom’s best friend, Pinterest, I’ve found numerous ideas for homemade foods and treats that I’d like to try my hand at for Nora’s meals, now that she’s well past purées. One of my latest experiments was homemade fruit snacks. I mean, seriously, why would I not try this??

Gummy Fruit Snacks

Here’s what you need:

1 cup mixed berries (I used raspberries and blueberries because they were in season and on sale)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup applesauce (Nora’s unsweetened version is what we had on hand)
1/2 cup fruit juice (I chose a 100% juice pomegranate/cranberry/blueberry blend)
2 envelopes gelatin (1 envelope = 2 1/2 tsp)

Here’s what to do:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the berries and water. Bring to a boil and cook until berries are soft, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée berries until smooth. Return to pot. Add applesauce and return to a boil, then remove from heat; cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over fruit juice and let stand one minute. Add hot fruit mixture and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes.

These fruity treats weren’t like the fruit snacks you’d get out of a box, but instead had the consistency of canned cranberry sauce. This was because of the gelatin, but that was okay by me. I thought they were yummy! But, did Nora?

She gave it a try…

…did she like it?

… You betcha!

Read what this recipe’s original blogger had to say about her trial run here.

Christa Allard

Christa never thought she looked particularly good in hats, but like any busy mom she finds herself wearing several of them these days. She stays home with her daughter, Nora full time, and is working towards a nursing degree and certification as a Breastfeeding Counselor. Christa lives in Wethersfield with her family, figuring out motherhood and life as she goes. She writes often about breastfeeding through toddlerhood and the journey to feeling validated in her mothering choices. Christa would like to be a character in an Amy Sherman Palladino sitcom when she grows up.

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Oooh, interesting! I have a couple of testers who’d be willing to try this out. I’ll report back! Thanks for sharing.

http://gravatar.com/marie5k marie5k

these look great! as a huge fan of gummies- fruit roll ups, gummy bears, jelly beans, i think i’ll try this out soon! and fortunately, if Jake doesn’t dig them, the batch will definitely not go to waste!

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